Princess
by OveliaGirlHaditRight
Summary: In having perceived the soul of a girl who lives in an abandoned mansion, Sora's given the chance to meet her-that many have only dreamed of-as he steps foot on a magic journey. Entered in "Star-Crossed Lovers" for SoKai Week. SoKai. AU. One-shot.


**Author's Note: AU. A story I wrote for SoKai Week under the "Star-Crossed Lovers" section.**

**Rushed a bit at the end, maybe, because I thought SoKai Week was sooner than it was.**

**Sora might be a bit OOC in this, just because he's a bit more like a normal teenage boy-as this is mostly a modern setting. But other than that, everyone else is hopefully in-character for the most part.**

Sora ran into his city's "haunted mansion", and thought of how this was much when Raven had broken into Alexander's place in "Vampire Kisses".

Why? Because he was breaking into a house like Raven had in that, and all on a dare too…

He deserved to get an axe to the face for this, he knew, because this was the kind of horror movie stuff you just didn't do….

And yet Sora hadn't been able to help himself… There was just something about this old mansion in the meadow.

It wasn't rundown like most scary-looking ones would have… But rather it was perfectly kept, even though it was clear to see that no one lived in it.

It even existed atop a stream with no portcullis, so how water didn't end up getting into the basement of the location and ruining it was beyond Sora.

And that was partly why he was so intrigued by it: Why most people were.

But while none of them had ever gotten the courage to sneak in, Sora just had. And he was shocked by what he saw.

…For some reason, he'd been sure that the home would be much more rundown on the inside than it was outside, but that didn't seem to be the case at all.

Rather, Sora saw before him a gorgeous golden floor, a pristine tiger statue, and many a room that seemed to be based on the big cat:

The small room that had Tony the Tiger wallpaper was a bit much for Sora, but he could see how a child might like it… except that it didn't seem like any one had ever been here.

And so not for the first time, the baseball player found himself wondering what the point of this place even was.

…It was then that he saw someone he would have never expected, given the state of this haunted house:

A blond boy—"blond" in the same way that albino tigers were that—with gray eyes, that spoke of the weather that had been going on outside, and the color of this house's moat.

His curly hair in particular was attractive to Sora:

As was his very white outfit—with gauntlet gloves—that made it seem like he was maybe a gardener from Heaven.

And just like that, Sora found himself worrying that he had somehow died and made it into the afterlife.

But before he could voice the concern, the boy—who he would later learn was named Ephemer—held up his hand and silenced Sora.

"Don't worry. You're fine. You didn't die, or anything. And we're not ghosts… You can just see us now, because you can perceive the girl who all of this if for."

"'Perceive' Like a human perceiving divine entities in a video game?" Cocking his head to the side, Sora asked this—as he took a hold of Ephemer's hand, headed towards what looked to be a bathroom so big, that you would have to run a marathon before you got to the toiletries—"you using that kind of word makes me think I'm in a video game, or something."

But even as he said it, Sora—selfishly—knew he didn't care much about whatever the situation was at all. Even if it were true.

How could he, when there were massive animal toys in front of him that he could play with?

Right over there was a giant hamster ball that Sora could get into, and he'd always wanted to try that…

So, this massive room, then, must have doubled as the bathroom and the pets' room… And really, it might as well have been three ballrooms put together, by the size of it all.

But, no: it was still somehow just one. And it gave Sora the sense, that for how big the rooms here there were weren't a lot of them.

So even rich people like this didn't have it absolutely perfect, and they must have been forced to turn these two locations into one. And if you were going to do that two any two ideas, Sora did think this was the best one.

"No, not a video game—and my name's Ephemer, by the way," Ephemer chuckled. "But there are powers in the real world, much like you would see there. And one of them is my lady… and you sensed her somehow, and that's why you, out of all your friends, were able to come here."

Okay, Sora may not have been at his best to think right now—how could he be, when he was dangerously trying to climb onto the top of the hamster ball to get to the latch and get in it?—but he thought he might have just gotten one of the answers to his questions:

The reason everyone wanted to get in here, and never did, was because in some way… this home called to them, too. But they hadn't quite reached "the lady's" mind, in order to be granted access… and Sora somehow had?

He supposed it must have been because he'd been thinking about Vampire Kisses before he'd attempted this … Thinking of what Raven had done, and how he sympathized with her whole story?

So, did that mean, then, that this woman was a lot like Raven… and that was why Sora had gained her favor? He was almost certain that was it.

…He'd always been good at this kind of thing: getting people, that was.

"So, will I get to meet your lady?" Sora dangerously asked… because now that he thought about it, what if he had been brought here to be her mate? And by pushing matters along, he was making sure that that would happen?

And as okay as Sora was with having sex with the surely beautiful girl who owned all of this—he was a boy, after all—he still didn't know if he could trust her… or if she might eat him. So maybe he should backtrack, and-

"She's quadriplegic, and has to use a computer in order to talk… Actually, there's a bit more to it than that. So, she won't let you meet her—at least not in the way you're thinking—but if she wants, she might let you into her dreams."

This was certainly news to Sora. He hadn't been expecting that answer at all, even with all the other magical stuff going on.

And despite what he'd just been thinking—about how he maybe didn't want to be with this girl—there was now a part of him that now pondered that if he did like her, he'd be okay with them not being able to have sex.

But he quickly pushed that thought away—being the good soul that he truly was, that had allowed him to come here in the first place—and instead got out of the contraption he'd just gotten himself into, walked over to Ephemer and said: "I want to meet her. And what should I do to let her know that? Yell to the sky, praying that she'll hear me?"

Ephemer looked off to the distance at this. And Sora guessed he'd once had a friend that he would have screamed to forever and ever, if only to bridge the gap between them just a little bit.

But finally, Ephemer turned back around to face Sora—a hamster climbing up to stand on his shoulder as he did so—and seemed to give the best answer he could think of. "She is, admittedly, taking much longer in her decision than I would have thought. But I think she'll eventually adhere to your request. So just play it by ear for a moment longer.

"Now if you'll excuse me—since everything I do isn't just for my kind-hearted sister—I'm going to go see my other friend Skuld now."

And just like that, Ephemer left Sora behind in the legendary palace—that's what he now saw it as, anyway—and the kid didn't know what to do about it.

If he was going to have to get into this girl's good graces, Sora thought a letter might be the best place to start. After all, girls had loved getting written to back in the day. Hadn't they?

So, finding pen and paper—from an area of the room that seemed to be for telling Ephemer what groceries to pick up—Sora began spilling out his heart.

_'Princess.. And yes, I'm going to call you that… Because even though your brother Ephemer calls you a lady… _

_'Well, for one thing, this place seems more like a castle to me than a mansion. So, you could be a lady for that reason. But also… if people need to get into your good graces to see you… you must be the type of person who must be a treasure to anyone who meets you. So that's why I'm moreso lining you up with being a princess, even if it's incorrect._

_'Anyway, all of this probably doesn't give you any more reason to want to meet me. I'd try to speak to your heart… but I don't know who you are at all:_

_'Pretty remarkable, you are, with your dream-walking capabilities, I know..._

_'But more than anything… I'd like to apologize to you for whatever made you quadriplegic… Maybe you were actually born that way, and me saying this to you is insulting: because you never knew how to live another way, and thus have never had any problem with it at all._

_'And yet… even if that's true, I still don't doubt you look at everyone—the life you should have had—and wonder why you. So, in that, I feel sympathy and empathy for you:_

_'Empathy because even though I don't know that feeling. At all. I won't even try to pretend… I lost my kid sister when she was young—and it was totally my fault, in a lightning storm—and that kind of pain is just the worst. And everyone comes up to me and apologizes, and-_

_"But none of this seems to define you. It doesn't define me. And I guess what I'm saying, is the kind of world you've made for yourself is impressive. And I'd love to meet the impressive person behind it, if you'll let me."_

Sora read his heart over, once, twice, three times, to make sure that it was okay.

And once deeming that it was, he went to a separate room… that really did seem just for stationary, and whatnot, and found an envelope to put it in.

Folding the note into a tiny square, Sora put it inside the enveloped, licked it—only to later wonder if he should have just gotten the seal wet with a sponge and water—and walked back outside to put it in the mail box, hoping the girl would find it. He didn't know what else to do, really.

And once Sora was back outside, he was taken aback to see that his friends Riku, Hayner, and Elrena had been frozen in place.

And while this should have terrified Sora—in thinking this girl playing god must have ripped him outside of time—it didn't at all. And Sora knew she was actually doing this to help him, so that he didn't seem lost in his world. And the moment she decided whether or not she was a part of his, she'd let him go.

Venturing back inside, Sora met someone else new… Though he could tell at once that it wasn't Ephemer's sister: For one thing, she was running down a flight of stairs with a pouch of frosting in her mouth: so clearly, she wasn't paralyzed.

And just the way that, from the get-go, this strawberry blonde seemed to be a busy-body, spoke little to Sora of the girl who took her time and was apparently lost in her own dreams.

"Nice ta meet ya, sir. I see you're here- that you're here to see her. Try if you must: I wish you the best of luck. But if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go pick some vegetables now."

There was a large part of Sora that wanted to agree to go with her. One, because it was the polite thing to do. And two, because he wanted to show Dreamer that he was worth her by helping out her subjects.

But the truth was, that Sora knew nothing about gardening and didn't want to seem the fool.

So instead, he spoke to this blue-eyed child about a memory he had linked to this type of thing.

"…When I was young, I once tried to help my grandma pick beans. But I wasn't very good at it. And it didn't help that I had to do so on blue grass, which apparently has some dangerous properties to it. So instead of focusing on it too much, I instead went in and helped my grandpa make a quilt of ties… And he seemed happy for it… As was my grandmother, with the little I did for her with the beans beforehand and in givng her husband some light in his life. So… could we do something like the latter?"

For a brief second, Sora thought he saw a white-salmon charm fall from his… friend's pocket, before she moved fast enough to catch it.

Sora even moved to help her get it, on the off-chance she couldn't reach it herself in time.

…But she certainly seemed to.

But then Sora saw naught in her hands at all. Which made him wonder if she was just a magician, or if he'd never really seen anything at all.

"My name is …Naminé," she finally said, averting her eyes from Sora and looking to him like she was trying to get his mind off of what he'd just witnessed.

It made Sora mistrust her, but in seeming to get that she tried to get him to warm up to her.

"That sounds good to me, I suppose. I've always been good at making things… So, join me."

And Sora's heart softened like it never had before. For was it him, or did this girl with the pink-ish hair seem… so lonely with her last words? The way that Ephemer's sister probably was?

"Here, come with me to my room and we'll get the supplies needed."

So, going up a winding staircase that was furrier than Sora would have believed—the people here seemed to be for fur. Unless it was faux-that—Naminé led Sora to where she bunked.

This segment was somehow even bigger than the joint pet room and bathroom, with yellows that Sora saw more than anything—or was light a better term for it, with how bright it all looked?—and there were some purple trims all around.

And then cutely, there was her bed with a baby blue bedspread containing clouds and a cow plushie on it.

"Let me guess: You named this thing after the animal it is, or the sound it makes?" Sora dared, because though it was an asshole thing to say: Sora had heard too many stories of girls who did just that.

And Sora's girl turned around gracefully at this—seeming about to stick her tongue out at his question, that would have been confirmation enough—and thought better of whatever she'd been about to do, and put her hands on her hips.

"Here, Sora. Why don't you just help me make a moo-moo, and I'll forgive your words?"

At this, Sora couldn't help but to laugh hysterically. This girl was good. Here he was, insulting her. But Naminé, with much attitude, was getting back at him for it:

Like, in asking him to help her sew a moo-moo—and to be clear, it had been hisidea to sew something—she was confirming that Sora had been right about her stuffed animal… But since he'd just been a bit of a jerk to her, she was going to make him work with her to sew this girly thing to get back in her good graces.

Before Sora could say anything else—like, that if they had to make something "moo" related, they didn't just make a cow costume—Naminé seized some auburn thread (oh, so they weren'tmaking a pale nightgown, after all?), and what looked like to be a pattern for a tux.

Once again, Sora found he should have been fearful here—was Naminé making him this, so he'd have something to wear for marrying the sister?—but he found that he wasn't.

Instead, he sensed this friend just wanted to practice her crafting skills and to give him a gift for going through all of this.

And so Naminé began set to work slowly and methodically working on the tux.

And using a bit of magic, she gave him a look before giving Sora ties, a seam ripper, and a needled and thread himself.

They set to work quietly for a while—surprisingly enjoying each other's company, which Sora never would have guessed with his first impression of her—but the moment a burst of sunlight came through the massive picture window to alight them both, Sora thought he had never been happier.

"...I really like you, Sora," Naminé said suddenly, after Sora had found a way to sew red tie and white ties together—over and over again—to make them look pink for her: All girls liked pink deep down, after all. And Naminé liking the closely colored auburn was probably a clue to that. "...And, I mean, I'm sure Kai- Kairi will, too…"

Gently taking Naminé's hand in his own to halt her motions, Sora asked with his hands behind his head: "'Kairi'? Is that who I'm supposed to be meeting here? Pretty name..."

And there was something in Naminé's face then, that Sora couldn't quite place... It was like how he imagined he looked, when he started thinking that maybe he didn't want to be a baseball player, after all.

The air had seemed to grow thick around them. And perhaps there was even sexual tension that could be cut with a knife.

Naminé breathed heavily... almost acting like it was hard for her now. ...Was she crying? And was doing so making her catch a cold?

"...Sora, what if I've lied about a few things?"

But Sora rebuked that so fast, he almost got whiplash.

"You can't have... or else I wouldn't have any reason to trust any of you here with my safety.

"Oh, look! A woman in a wheelchair's pulling into the room. That must be the famed Kairi!"

The women wore a blue cloak with a snake mask, and Sora's heart nearly broke in seeing she must have been even that self-conscious about things.

But the moment he touched the woman's hand, Sora was transported from the mansion with a violent push, and he saw Naminé's regretful face as it happened

Whatever enchantment had let him into the place was now expended.

And try as he might, Sora was never able to enter it again.  
And now as he stood before the mansion, having watched all his dreams turn to falling sand between his fingertips, he got it.

"Naminé" had really been Kairi's soul that she magicked to interact with him, because she was as self-loathing as her mother was.

The woman Sora had interacted with in the wheelchair, was Kairi and Ephemer's mother, who suffered from the same affliction as Kairi did.

And when Sora had seemingly "chosen her" over Kairi, it had ruined everything.

Now all Sora could do was regret, and he imagined Kairi felt the same way.

Though sometimes Sora still thought he could feel her presence... and he dreamed of a different future altogether.


End file.
